A Fantastic Wedding for Megan and Brian at Market View!

Megan and Brian chose to have their wedding in downtown Raleigh at Market Hall in City Market. However, instead of having the ceremony inside, they decided to have the ceremony outside on the cobblestone street in front of the venue. All it took was getting the City of Raleigh to agree to close that little street. Wow! What a great idea. 

Their wedding was June 1, 2019--a beautiful day and not too hot. There was some shade from the buildings and trees too. First thing I did when I arrived was get my sound set up. 
Nicole with Premier Party Planners was our wonderful director. She and I have worked weddings together for many years and Nicole is a blessing! She is standing beside our DJ, Jim Unger, with All Around Raleigh DJ. He and I have also worked together many times in the past. Love this team of vendors! Sarah Lowder was our photographer and John Warlick our videographer. Here is a LINK to his wedding trailer video of this wedding.

Chatting with Tara, Nicole's assistant. Good to see her again and work with her too! 

Upstairs in the Bridal Suite, Megan and Brian had staged a First Look that took place earlier. So everyone was relaxing and staying cool. With them in their beloved labradoodle Annie who is our Flowerdog! What a sweet pup! They have been wonderful dog parents to her I could tell!

Here is the reception area all decked out and ready. See the purple uplighting by the DJ. 

The guests have arrived and taken their seats. 

A view from the back of the aisle. 

Getting Annie's flowers on for her entrance! 

It is time for me to enter and make the unplugged announcement asking the guests to put away their cell phones and cameras and truly be present with Megan and Brian during the ceremony.

Please unplug! 

Megan's grandparents enter and take their seats. 

Brian escorts his mom, Kitty, in. 

Close behind them are John, Brian's dad, and Annie!

Then Mother of the Bride, Judy, is escorted in by her son who circles back to join the groomsmen. 

Then the bridesmaids and groomsmen process in as couples. 

Finally it is time for the bride and her dad, Kevin, to enter. You can see the Cook Shack truck behind them. They catered this wedding. 

The English Garden furnished the pretty florals including the bouquets and boutonnieres. 

The guests stand for the bride and her dad. 

We began with words of welcome to everyone and thanked them from coming from near and far to celebrate this special day with Megan and Brian.

Then we remembered their loved ones who were no longer with us. 

I stepped out to address their parents and tell them how much their children love them and appreciate their love and support throughout their lives.

Now to tell the story of how Megan and Brian met at college and the journey of their relationship from then to their wedding day.

We laughed a lot and everyone enjoyed hearing the funny stories!

Then I revealed to them what their partner had told me in confidence they love about them and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

Then it was time for their vows. 

Brian read his promises of marriage to Megan from my book. 

Then Megan read hers to Brian. 

Time to exchange rings.

Megan puts the ring on Brian's finger.

I was thrilled to pronounce them husband and wife!

Sealed with a kiss!

Their guests are cheering them!

Yes, you can walk back down the aisle now! 

The wedding party and Annie make their exit.

Congratulations, Megan and Brian! What a fabulous wedding you had. Thank you for choosing me to join you in marriage. You were great to work with and I love your story! I wish you the best always!

Brittany and Beau's Fabulous Fun Wedding at Market Hall!

Beau and Brittany chose downtown wedding venue Market Hall  in City Market for their wedding ceremony and reception. It is a fun all-in-one place for a wedding. The wedding day was May 4th, 2019, exactly 6 years from their first date. Kate Rowe with Wedding Day Rescue was their wedding planner/director and I loved working with her! Because of another rehearsal, we did a mini-rehearsal with the couple and Brittany's dad since I could not be at the full rehearsal and Kate handled that. Worked like a charm! 

The wedding day arrived and the weather was so pretty. 

They had thought of a lot of sweet touches for their big day. 

First thing I did was check in with our DJ, Darnell Davis with ME Wedding DJ company. He plugged my mic into his system and we did a sound check. Thanks, Darnell!

The tables were gathered together on one side of the big open room while the chairs were in the other side for the ceremony. After the ceremony, the guests go to the back of there area to the bar for cocktails while the staff reconfigures the room for the reception. Rocky Top was catering. Yummy! Urban Bloom Photography was their professional photographer. (Photos in this blog taken by my hubby/roadie Dave with my Canon Powershot and iPhone.)

Rise Biscuits and Donuts provide the sweets instead of a traditional wedding cake. 

After the sound check, I went upstairs to the bridal suite where the wedding party was hanging out before the ceremony. I greeted everyone and got the best man and maid of honor to sign the marriage license for me.

Most of the guests have arrived and it is time for the wedding party to come downstairs and get lined up to process in.

Now Kate has us all lined up to enter after the parents were escorted in and seated. 

They guys and I await the beautiful bridesmaids.

When we are all in place, the music changed and it was time for the bride to enter. 

Brittany and her father, Jim, hesitated for a moment to allow Kate to fluff the train. 

I invited the guests to stand for our beautiful bride. 

They floated down the aisle to stop in front of me and Beau where Jim transferred Brittany's hand into Beau's and everyone was seated.

A warm welcome to all our guests and family members with thanks for making the journey to be with us. 

A prayer followed the welcome and then a special blessing for their parents. 

The fun part began with the telling of the story of how Beau and Brittany met at Appalachian State back in 2010. They were just friends for 3 years. It was on May 4, 2013 at the end of their senior year that their relationship took a romantic turn. They had spent the day before celebrating Brittany’s birthday and were spending the next day celebrating Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you). 

After graduation Brittany moved to Winston-Salem for work while Beau stayed on for grad school. Their relationship survived the long distance challenge and after grad school, Beau landed a job in Winston-Salem with help from Brittany's connections.

Beau proposed in 2017 after 4.5 years of dating and they set the wedding date for exactly 6 years from their very first date.

I then told the guests that Beau and Brittany had told me in confidence what they love about each other, why they wanted to marry and what they are looking forward to in marriage.

And now for the first time they are hearing what their beloved told me. So sweet and some humor too! 

They each said "I do" to a series of promises to each other then exchanged rings. 

After a closing blessing, I pronounced them husband and wife and invited them to share their first kiss as husband and wife!

Happy to oblige!!

I introduced the newlywed couple to their guests and invited them to join in congratulating them. 

And away they go!! For photographs though--while the guests enjoyed cocktail hour before a very fun celebration of their wedding!

Beau and Brittany! Congratulations on your marriage and your beautiful wedding. I loved working with you and wish you the very best always!!